AustLit
Latest Issues
AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'A wry and topical inquiry into how we respond when our cultural clock starts ticking. 'For a long time I pretended turning thirty was no big deal - but looking back, it's clear I was bat-shit na-na for a good nine months either side of that birthday.' The first of the millennials are now in their thirties. Dubbed 'the Peter Pan generation', they have been accused of delaying adult milestones. But do marriage, careers, mortgages, and babies mean the same thing today that they did 30 years ago? Briohny Doyle turned 30 without a clear idea of what her adult life should look like. A greengrocer with a graduate degree, the world she lived in didn't match the one her parents described. Her dad advised her to find a nice secure job; her best friend got married and moved to the suburbs. But she couldn't help wondering if the so-called adult milestones distract us from other measures of maturity. In a crackling mix of memoir and cultural critique, Doyle explores how societies cultivate ideas about education, work, relationships, and ageing. She interrogates the concept of adulthood through the neon buzz of pop culture and the lives of other young adults. In a rapidly-changing world, she asks- what is an adult, and how do you become one?' (Publication Summary)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
-
Toni Jordan on Her Favourite New Writer : ‘You Should Be Reading Briohny Doyle’
2017
single work
column
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 15 September 2017;'Guardian Australia is asking well-known Australian authors to recommend emerging writers. In the first instalment, best-selling novelist Toni Jordancelebrates the intrepid, brutal, important work of Briohny Doyle.'
-
Growing up Is Hard to Do, or so It Seems
2017
single work
essay
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 3 June 2017; (p. 19) '‘‘Adult’’ is now a verb. Internet cartoons and listicles prove it’s acceptable for people in their 20s to admit that ‘‘adulting is hard’’. We live with our parents longer, have babies later; we are perpetual adolescents who can’t cook dinner and instead order Uber Eats and post it on Instagram. We spend disposable income on fancy coffees and expensive brunch, which why we can’t afford property. If only we had the perseverance of our baby-boomer parents.' (Introduction)
-
Growing up Is Hard to Do, or so It Seems
2017
single work
essay
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 3 June 2017; (p. 19) '‘‘Adult’’ is now a verb. Internet cartoons and listicles prove it’s acceptable for people in their 20s to admit that ‘‘adulting is hard’’. We live with our parents longer, have babies later; we are perpetual adolescents who can’t cook dinner and instead order Uber Eats and post it on Instagram. We spend disposable income on fancy coffees and expensive brunch, which why we can’t afford property. If only we had the perseverance of our baby-boomer parents.' (Introduction) -
Toni Jordan on Her Favourite New Writer : ‘You Should Be Reading Briohny Doyle’
2017
single work
column
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 15 September 2017;'Guardian Australia is asking well-known Australian authors to recommend emerging writers. In the first instalment, best-selling novelist Toni Jordancelebrates the intrepid, brutal, important work of Briohny Doyle.'